Looming Job Cuts and Outsourcing Thicken Dark Clouds Over Harley-Davidson

With second quarter sales slipping 53.5%, these are tough times across the board for the motorcycle industry. But it’s an especially difficult period for Harley-Davidson, whose ongoing troubles have dominated anxiety over the domestic bike business– despite rival Victory’s recently announced 56% drop in 3rd quarter sales.

Not only has the Motor Company faced continued losses and announced the discontinuation of the Buell brand and the planned divestiture of MV Agusta, their latest arrows of misfortune center around outsourcing and further anticipated job cutting at their York, Pennsylvania plant.

The embattled York plant is facing outsourcing of noncore jobs to suppliers, namely chrome plating and parts stamping. Though spokesman Pat Sweeney says that vehicle assembly, metal fabricating, and painting will stay at the plant, union president Tom Santone estimates the move will eliminate 400 jobs. Even more threatening are recent news items suggesting that Harley-Davidson is not ruling out building motorcycles overseas, a realistic expectation considering their strong European sales and their expansion into growing markets like India.

Is any U.S. industry sacred, and is this the end of an era in American manufacturing? Considering that Budweiser is owned by a European conglomerate and even Levi’s jeans are manufactured abroad, I’d say Harley has served as one of the last bastions of truly great American brands.

Are these outsourcing trends troubling, or simply to be expected given the globalized state of commerce? Share your thoughts with a comment.

Sources: York Daily Record, LA Times

Related:

• Will This Year’s Harley-Davidson York Open House be its Last?
• Industry Shock: Harley-Davidson to Discontinue Buell, Divest MV Agusta
• Moto Poll: Should Harley-Davidson Receive a Government Bailout?
• Harley’s Next Stop: India
• Harley-Davidson Profit Drops 91%; 1,000 More Layoffs Announced

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Looming Job Cuts and Outsourcing Thicken Dark Clouds Over Harley-Davidson originally appeared on About.com Motorcycles on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 14:41:37.

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